By Christa Protano
With National Parks Week and Earth Day taking center stage on the calendar, April is prime time to celebrate where we live. Not sure where to start? Why not get the whole family involved? After all, the family that reads together, stays together, right? Here are four books that will inspire everyone from Grandpa to your tribe’s youngest to do their part to our honor and protect our planet all yearlong.
The World’s Best National Parks in 500 Walks
From Yellowstone to Mount Kilimanjaro, this gorgeous full-color tome will inspire your next family vacation. With detailed routes, travel tips and more, you’ll find a natural landscape to suit any experience level. After you’ve done your research, be sure to take advantage of National Parks Week's Free Entry Day (April 16, this year) and gather the family for a leisurely stroll or epic hike at a national park near you.
Pop Up & Build: National Parks
Don’t worry if traveling is not in your near future. You can still get a three-dimensional view of our country’s most popular national parks thanks to this interactive hardcover. Young children will love assembling the pop-up models of Yosemite, the Everglades, and even the Grand Canyon, while older siblings can expand their knowledge of all 59 preserved landscapes.
After Earth Day (April 22) has come and gone, this giant book will serve as a helpful reminder to reduce, reuse and recycle each and every day. With plenty of mazes, Sudoku challenges, math activities, and 50-plus stickers, kids will have fun while learning all about environmental issues and ways to save our planet.
Since water makes up the majority of our planet, we are rounding out our earth-friendly reading list with a hardcover book dedicated to our deep blue oceans. This colorful, interactive title dives (pun intended) into the habitats of sea otters, whale sharks, octopi and more. The best part? Each highlighted marine animal gets its very own keepsake model to build.